Review of Kona Coast

There's the potential for at least an entertaining thriller in this Hawaiian set action drama, but unfortunately, mostly unlikable characters line the tepid screenplay. Richard Boone may be alright as a second lead or villain, but as a hero, he's totally unappealing. He's a boatman whose illegitimate daughter reaches out to him in a drug-induced state and leads him on a pointless chase to find her killer. This leads him to brassy Joan Blondell (as the sister of a pal who bequeaths him half interest in his fishing boat) and old flame Vera Miles, as well as some stereotypical natives and a gay villain so unlikable that gay audience members were most likely hissing him at the few theaters that this probably played at.

There are some enlightening moments, particularly Blondell's admission that she's spent 30 years crying over a bottle which explains her initial hard demeanor. You know that underneath this blowzy dame lies a huge heart, and when she breaks down and smiles, it is the rising of the sun. Miles, also playing a recovering alcoholic, seems like she's slumming, a socialite whose past with Boone doesn't warrant re-exploring. He's actually quite verbally abusive to her, so it makes no sense that she would see anything in him unless she's in the market for further self-destruction. As for the gay villain, he's so flamboyantly evil, leading Boone on a final chase with prissy taunts that make Jack Cassidy and his pink poodle in "The Eiger Sanction" seem like Jack LaLane in comparison.